http://www.engvid.com/ Have you noticed that hats are back in style? In today’s English lesson I’ll teach you five idioms with hats. I’m going to act for you and tell you about the different kinds of hats you can wear. After you watch the lesson, comment and tell me what kind of hats you like to wear. Then take the quiz on engVid.com, but don’t keep the results under your hat! http://www.engvid.com/5-hat-idioms/

TRANSCRIPT

Comrades, welcome to EngVid. Today, we will be discussing the hat. Hi. James, from EngVid. I do want to talk about hats. I’m wearing a hat that goes with this shirt. Okay. But I’ve got a couple of them because we’re going to discuss idioms.

Now, Mr. E is here, of course. He’s wearing a baseball cap. He’s got, you know — we call them “granddad caps” in England, but they’re “caps”. You see people wearing them all the time, this kind of a cap. Okay. Cowboy hat, badly drawn, but who cares? In the early 20th century, people wore hats a lot, okay? So a lot of hat wearing. People would wear hats everywhere — church, whatever. Men would wear hats, so would ladies. But then, they suddenly stopped. If you want to know the truth, it was around the 1960s from a president named John F. Kennedy. He was seen often not wearing a hat, and he didn’t wear an undershirt. And after that, men starting changing their style. See? You don’t just learn English. We’re going to teach you some history. He kind of changed fashion a little bit, for men, for the next 40 to 50 — well, 60 years. But now, hats are back. And it’s time for a hat idiom show, okay? Because now, you can say things. You’ll be wearing your hat, and you can say something stylish like, “I take off my hat for you.” Okay? So let’s go to the board.

You’ll see I have a couple of things written here — well, five, to be exact. Okay? And right now, you don’t know what they mean, like, “without hesitation”, “Be prepared for something very physical”, “Be prepared to be shocked”, “give my respect”, “I admire them”, “keep it a secret”, and “have many responsibilities”. And I’m sure you’re saying, “What does this have to do with hats?” Well, why don’t I show you? Ready?

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Now, “drop of a hat”. When somebody says “at the drop of a hat”, they mean “without hesitation. At any time.” I’m talking to you, and — oops. It dropped again. You don’t know. It means, “Move now.” If someone says, “You have to move at the drop of a hat”, it means, “Don’t even think. Just go.” Or it could happen at any time. “At the drop of a hat, the bus could arrive.” So you literally drop your hat; you look down; Whoa! The bus is gone. Just like that. So “be prepared”, okay?

What about this one? Have you ever been walking in the wind? It’s really, really windy. See this is flying. It’s flying away like Superman’s cape now. See, it’s flying. Someone will say, “Hold on to your hat!” Because it will blow away. Well, if you watch any movies, especially Westerns or North American movies, they’re always, like, “Hold on to your hat, son. Something’s going to happen.” It’s saying, “Be prepared to be shocked, or something’s going to be bad. Be prepared.” Because it’s going to be so physical or so amazing that the hat might fly away, and you’ll lose your hat. Remember, people were in the 20th century, so they wore hats all the time everywhere. Now, we don’t as much, so they don’t say it as much, but you’re going to see that these idioms are going to come back simply because hats are in style. All right? So, “Be ready to be shocked.” Something will scare you, and your hat will fly off your head. Or you’re going to do something physical like run, and, “Hold on to your hat! We’ve got to get going.”

Now, how about this? “I give my respect” or, “I admire that person.” If I were to see the Queen right now, I would do this. Hat’s off. Okay? When we say, “My hat it off” — “hat’s off”. Remember, this is from a long time ago. So when you say “hat’s off to that person”, it’s a sign of admiration. Many people, when they go into a church, if they’re wearing a hat, they will take their hats off as a sign of respect for the religion. Or, “My hat is off for that guy.” I take my hat off because I respect him, so I take it off. And sometimes, people don’t do that. What they do is this. You’ll see it — not as much, but they go like this. That’s like taking off the hat, so they do it short. And they go like this, “Good morning, ma’am. Good morning, sir.” They’ll be like, “Good morning.” Hat’s off to you. “I respect you” or, “You have my admiration” or, “I admire you.”

And here’s something. I know it’s funny money — whatever. But see this? I’ve got some money. Don’t tell anybody. Keep it a secret. When we say this, “Shh! Keep it under your hat” — “Keep it a secret.” “Keep it a secret. Don’t tell anybody.” “Shh! Keep it under your hat. Shh! Be quiet.”